The Charm of Music
by missy52061
Summary: Martha and Jim babysit the three Castle children. As always, I don't own Castle.


Martha Rodgers always thought the best part of getting older was the grandchildren. And she was a very lucky woman – her only child, Richard, had given her four wonderful ones. Alexis was grown now, but Lily, Jacob and Reece were not and Martha was thrilled to be their babysitter whenever possible. Well, one of their babysitters. When it was just Lily, Martha or Jim or Alexis could easily handle her. (Lily was a total delight, just like her big sister) But now that there were three little Castles, Richard and Katherine felt it was better to be at least two babysitters. So this evening, she and Jim would be the official sitters.

So Martha wasn't surprised when she saw Jim enter the lobby of the loft mere seconds after she did. They greeted each other with a kiss on the cheek, and rode the elevator together. It hadn't been that long since they'd seen each other – they'd all had dinner at the loft last Sunday – but they still found things to talk about during their short ride to Richard and Katherine's home. Martha knocked on the door and heard a crash. She and Jim looked at each other and laughed. When Richard opened the door, he was holding back Lily. "Mother! Jim! So glad you could do this," but even as he was kissing his mother's cheek and shaking Jim's hand, Lily was hopping around the adults.

"Gram, can we sing together?" Lily had a pretty voice and Martha had always encouraged her. But before her grandmother could answer, Lily turned to her grandfather. "Grandpa, Daddy bought me some more baseball cards. I want to show you all the Mets I got!" She hopped in place some more, so Jim picked her up so he could greet her properly. The adults laughed at the face she made and Jim passed her to Martha after he kissed her.

"Yes, darling, we can sing together as long as your brothers are awake," Martha answered her granddaughter as she put her down. "Now, did you knock over the blocks I see all over the floor?" When Lily looked down at her Mets sneaker clad feet, Martha continued, "Then can you please pick them up? Thank you, Lily!" Lily had already picked up two of the blocks before Martha was even finished.

Rick smiled as he watched his daughter put her toys away. Lily might be their child, but she was a lot like her big sister. She always tried to do the right thing. He turned to his mother and smiled, and then he said, "Kate's just making sure the boys are content before we leave." At that moment, Kate came out of the office holding both boys. She smiled when she saw Martha and Jim, who both hurried to her side. She didn't need to say anything; she knew that the grandparents would be more than happy to hold one of their grandsons.

Martha looked down at the grandson in her arms and said, "Why hello, Reece my darling. I am so happy to see you!" Rick looked at Kate in amazement. While some people had problems telling the boys apart, Martha never did. She claimed it was a grandmother's love, but it was amazing just the same.

Jim grinned at the grandson he was holding, and said, "Well, hello there Jake! Ready for an evening of fun? And for stories about your mom?" Kate rolled her eyes at him – he had been saying that to his grandchildren since the first time he babysat Lily. He had told her a few stories, but nothing terrible – yet. She slid her feet into her heels as Rick got her coat. She was giving the grandparents some last minute instructions and they were humoring her. They knew the drill.

Rick kissed each of the boys and then called Lily over so he could say good night. "Be a good listener, okay Lily? And help Gram and Grandpa too," he said as he kissed her cheek. Kate had kissed the boys and Lily too. She reminded her that she should brush her teeth, and with that, Rick and Kate left.

And as soon as the door closed, Jake and Reece started to cry. Martha and Jim rocked them, but it didn't seem to help much. Then Martha got an idea.

"Lily, darling, why don't you sing a song for Reece and Jake?" Lily had picked up all her blocks and had been waiting to see what her grandparents wanted to do. So when Gram suggested that she sing to her brothers, she thought it was a great idea.

"I would love to sing for them!" she said in her most dramatic voice. Jim turned his head to the side and grinned. Lily was the spitting image of her mother, but when it came to drama, well, it was obvious she was Martha's granddaughter. Lily continued, "But what should I sing?" She tipped her head to one side and Jim had to bite his lip so he wouldn't laugh out loud. This was such a Martha gesture. He rocked Jake a little while Lily thought a bit.

Martha smiled at her younger granddaughter as she dipped and swayed with her grandson in her arms. "I know what you should sing, darling! What about the song we've been working on?" When Martha had first heard Lily singing when she was a toddler, she had been thrilled. She had a beautiful voice, just like her mother's. So every time they were together, she and Lily would sing. And lately, they had been singing "High Hopes", an old Frank Sinatra song.

Lily's face brightened right away. "Oh yes, Gram, that song is perfect." She stood still, put her hand over her heart and started to sing.

 _Just what makes that little old ant_

 _Think he can move that rubber tree plant_

 _Anyone knows an ant can't_

 _Move a rubber tree plant._

Jim and Martha continued to rock the boys as their sister sang. Soon, their tears stopped and they actually started to laugh. Jake was even moving his arms as if he was conducting. Martha sang along and even Jim joined in. Lily began to dance around the room, and there were no more tears, just lots of love and laughter.

There were no more problems the rest of the evening. Lily showed her grandpa all her new baseball cards. Jake and Reece happily ate their dinner as Martha and Jim fed them as they supervised Lily feeding herself. All three grandchildren's faces were cleaned up and then the three sat on the couch with their grandparents. Jim and Martha read to their grandchildren. At first, Jim didn't think he was as good at this as Martha was, but she quickly told him that was silly. "You don't have to be a professional to do this, Jim. Grandchildren don't care. They love us no matter what," and that was that.

After story time was over, they changed diapers and dressed their grandsons in their pajamas. Martha supervised Lily brushing her teeth and helped her put on her pajamas. Jake and Reece were trying not to sleep, but a little humming and some rocking soon had them closing their eyes. Then Martha watched while Jim tucked Lily in, and she leaned over to kiss her on her forehead. They both whispered good night and Lily was asleep in minutes.

The two friends had a cup of tea while they waited for their children to return. Not too much later, they were home from their night out, and the grandparents and parents kissed and said good night. Another adventure with the grandchildren thought Martha as she sat in the cab on her way home. Another wonderful night with my sweethearts.

 **A/N: I needed sappy. Life hasn't been that great for me in the past few weeks and I just needed something to make me feel better. And the idea that someday, Lily Castle sings to her brothers and makes them happy made me feel better. I hope you don't mind that I went in this direction.**

 **And Rick mentions this song in "Knockout" when he tells Kate that "I'm the guy who says we can move that rubber tree plant" so I loved that Lily would sing it.**


End file.
